First published at Between the Lines News on January 15, 2008 In terms of gay-rights progress, brace yourself for a difficult year. This is not because things are getting worse for gay and lesbian people. It’s because the national conversation on gay-rights issues is getting harder. One reason is that, as cliché as it sounds,… Continue reading Are Our Opponents Like Segregationists?
Tag: religion
A Big (Gay) Italian Wedding
First published in Between the Lines on May 3, 2007 This past weekend I attended a big Italian wedding in New York. I grew up on Long Island, in a family where big Italian weddings are a staple. This one had all the usual trappings: loud music, louder relatives, tons of food. This one, however,… Continue reading A Big (Gay) Italian Wedding
Listening to God—and Gays
First published in Between the Lines on April 18, 2007 In a recent column I wrote about a Christian couple who invited me to dinner during one of my lecture tours. I first met the husband when he stood up during a Q&A session after one of my talks. He described himself as theologically conservative… Continue reading Listening to God—and Gays
Amazing Grace
First published in Between the Lines on March 22, 2007 The gentleman stood up during a lull in the Q&A session, and I was grateful for anyone to break the silence. In recent years I’d become used to this routine: I’d go to a small liberal-arts college to speak on homosexuality. The students, who were… Continue reading Amazing Grace
Gay Parenting and Double Standards
First published in Between the Lines, January 25, 2007 I don’t have children, don’t plan to have children, and don’t particularly want children. If I were to adopt children, my main criterion would be that they be old enough to operate the vacuum and do some light dusting. So same-sex parenting is not an issue… Continue reading Gay Parenting and Double Standards
Sadness, Not Smirks, for Haggard
First published in Between the Lines on November 16, 2006 A few weeks ago I was in Ripon, Wisconsin, for a same-sex marriage debate with Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family, when the Ted Haggard story broke. Haggard, then president of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of the massive New Life Church… Continue reading Sadness, Not Smirks, for Haggard
The Pope’s Impotent Argument
First published in Between the Lines, May 18, 2006. Last week Pope Benedict spoke out against gay marriage and civil unions. “Only the rock of total and irrevocable love between a man and a woman is capable of being the foundation of building a society that becomes a home for all mankind,” the pope declared,… Continue reading The Pope’s Impotent Argument
The Church’s Shame
First published September 29, 2005, in Between the Lines Back in the 1980s, I aspired to the Roman Catholic priesthood. After investigating various orders, I eventually gravitated toward the Franciscans, not so much on theological grounds as for having clicked well with the vocation director, “Fr. Larry.” (Or maybe I thought that brown was the… Continue reading The Church’s Shame
The New Pope: Wrong on Relativism
First published April 28, 2005, in Between the Lines. Although some people would describe me as a fallen Catholic, they’re wrong: I didn’t fall; I leapt. Still, after John Paul II’s death, I followed the papal candidates with an enthusiasm normally reserved for American Idol contestants. Eagerly I scrutinized their biographies on interactive websites, trying… Continue reading The New Pope: Wrong on Relativism
Homosexuality and Morality, Part 2: The Bible
First published at Between the Lines on December 12, 2002 MANY PEOPLE claim that homosexuality is wrong because “The Bible says so.” This claim rests on two presuppositions: (1) The Bible condemns homosexual conduct. (2) The Bible is a good moral guide. Each of these raises questions. Regarding the first: does the Bible condemn all… Continue reading Homosexuality and Morality, Part 2: The Bible